july 18
Kim Abeles: The work of this talented Californian gives new meaning to the term "environmental art." Best known for her "smog" series--which utilizes man's pollutants to comment on mankind's folly--Abeles is also adept at assemblage, drawing and welding, and her creations are generally knockouts whether they're bite-size or room-size. Her small pieces in "Between Reality and Abstraction: California Art at the End of the Century" at Scottsdale Center for the Arts (see the Art Exhibits listing) are installation highlights. Abeles hosts a career-retrospective lecture/slide presentation at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18, in the Cinema at the center, 7380 East Second Street. Admission is free. For details call 994-2787.
Nico-Icon: Director Susanne Ofteringer's documentary tells tales on the late, Berlin-born Nico (real name: Christa Paffgen), model, actress, Teutonic chanteuse, Andy Warhol cohort, short-lived Velvet Undergrounder and, in the bitter end, a star-crossed junkie who embodied the Velvets' tune "Black Angel's Death Song." The unrated film screens daily, through Thursday, July 25, at Valley Art Theatre, 509 South Mill in Tempe. For details call 829-6668.
White Zombie, and Pantera: The trashy, thrashy Zombie, led by Robert Straker (stage name: Rob Zombie) and Sean Yseult, makes a return visit to Chandler's Compton Terrace on Thursday, July 18, as a follow-up to the group's successful March show at the Terrace. Sharing the bill are those cowboys from hell--Dallas, Texas, really--in Pantera (see the story on page 89). Eye Hate God opens at 8 p.m. The venue is located at I-10 and Riggs Road. Tickets are $25.50, available at Dillard's; call 678-2222.
Here in America: Performance artist Robert Post, a deft physical comedian, sends up philosophy, politics, the media, basketball, ballet school and a bunch of other frankly indescribable stuff in his solo touring show, billed as "an evening of illegitimate theatre." Final performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 18; 8 p.m. Friday, July 19; 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20; and 2 p.m. Sunday, July 21, in Stage West at Herberger Theater Center, 222 East Monroe. For reservations and details, call 252-8497.
"La Phoeniquera XVI": MARS Artspace, located at 126 South Central, in Luhrs Office Center, celebrates the art and artists of Arizona with its annual summer-season blowout. This year's exhibition, juried by Phoenix Art Museum's curator of 20th-century art, David Rubin, features works by Tina Sotis, Frank Ybarra, Nancy Scheer, Linda K. Foss-Asakawa, Brent Bond and many others. It continues through Friday, August 9. Viewing hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free. For details call 253-3541.
friday
july 19
godheadSilo, and Doo Rag: This duo duet happens Friday, July 19, at Hollywood Alley, 2610 West Baseline in Mesa. Opener 'Silo is, in essence, a rhythm section, consisting of a drummer and a bassist whose oeuvre falls closer to performance art than to alt. rock; see the story on page 90. The headliner, Tucson's gutter-blues twosome Doo Rag, is like They Might Be Giants with rabies. Front man Bob Log and beat guy Thermos Malling play what Champion Jack Dupree termed the nasty boogie-woogie on "found"--as in "found in a thrift store"--instruments like vacuum tubes, metal buckets and cardboard boxes. The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8, available at Alternatix. For details call 820-7117 or 244-8444.
Sister Machine Gun: The Chicago group is a rarity: an industrial band that doesn't offend the ears, and doesn't try to. Chris Randall, who heads the conglomeration of musicians culled from defunct acts like Die Warzau, Skinny Puppy, and the Final Cut, labels the Sister's sound "a postmodern soup of popular music," and he's right. Burn, SMG's third disc for Wax Trax!/TVT, makes for a foot-stomping good time--damnable synths, Moogs, MIDIs and all. The album's a throwback, featuring a solid set of rockin', accessible songs ("Hole in the Ground" is the best), which makes it a small step forward for the stale industrial genre. Chemlab, and Drill share the all-ages bill. Showtime is 9 p.m. Friday, July 19, at the Mason Jar, 2303 East Indian School. Tickets are $11 in advance, $13 the day of the show, available at Ticketmaster. For details call 956-6271 or 784-4444.
"Young Virtuosos": Three promising Valley classical students--16-year-old Sarah Porter, 17-year-old Maria Dastrup and 19-year-old Carl Gales--perform at this public recital, which continues the "Summer Classical Series" at Scottsdale Center for the Arts, 7380 East Second Street. The program includes works by Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, Chopin, Liszt and Gounod. Showtime is 8 p.m. Friday, July 19. Tickets are $12, available at the center and Ticketmaster. For more information, call 994-2787 or 784-4444.
Voodoo Glow Skulls: The brothers Casillas--Frank, Eddie and Jorge--lead this self-proclaimed "nerd-core" septet with the snappy name and the hot fusion of punk, ska and Latino beats. The Riverside, California, group performs on Friday, July 19, at Nile Theater, 105 West Main in Mesa. Youth Brigade, and Plinko share the stage. The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. For details call 649-2766.
Here in America: See Thursday.
"La Phoeniquera XVI": See Thursday.
Nico-Icon: See Thursday.
saturday
july 20
Man . . . or Astroman?: It may be a joke, but what a punch line: MOA? is an Alabama surf band masquerading as a group of grounded space aliens masquerading as an Alabama surf band--or something like that. The Astromen (CoCo the Electronic Monkey Wizard, Starcrunch, Birdstuff, and Dexter X From Planet Q) play "Philip K. Dick in the Pet Section of Wal-Mart," "Sadie Hawkins Atom Bomb" and the rest of their smashing nonhits on Saturday, July 20, at Boston's, 910 North McClintock in Tempe. The Subsonics, and the Quadrajets share the all-ages bill. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 the day of the show, available at Alternatix. For details call 921-7343 or 244-8444.
"PIGEONs": The latest CRASHarts exhibition, featuring Paul Stout's whiz-bang mechanical birds and other symbolic avian conceptions by Laura Corbin, Jim Cherry, Linda Brady, Laura Artusio and Linda Ingraham, flaps its last at a closing reception scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20, at the Icehouse, 429 West Jackson. Admission is a $1 donation. For details call 256-6333.
National Independent Bookstore Week: If you're a fan of chain-threatened independent book coves like Tempe's Changing Hands Bookstore and Those Were the Days, Phoenix's Book Gallery and Annie's Book Shop and Scottsdale's Bookmaster, now's a good time to show your appreciation. The Valley Independent Booksellers Association sponsors the local commemoration of this national celebration of literary "mom and pop" operations; it starts Saturday, July 20, and continues daily, through Saturday, July 27. For details, or the location of an indie bookseller near you, call 967-4729 or 756-2701.
Jeff Hamilton Trio: Drummer Hamilton contributed to Natalie Cole's Unforgettable disc, and he's kept the beat for Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie and many others. He leads his own group, which includes bassist Lynn Seaton and pianist Larry Fuller, in a performance at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20, in the Territorial Room at SunBurst Resort, 4925 North Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. The show continues the resort's "Summer Jazz Series." Admission is $12. For details call 945-7666 or 1-800-528-7867.
Fairgrounds Antique Market: The market, the state's largest, continues its tenth season this weekend. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 20; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at Arizona State Fairgrounds, 19th Avenue and McDowell. Admission is $1; accompanied children age 14 and under get in free. Fairgrounds parking costs $3 per vehicle. For details call 258-6711 or 943-1766.
Here in America: See Thursday.
"La Phoeniquera XVI": See Thursday.
Nico-Icon: See Thursday.
sunday
july 21
The Delta 72: The Washington, D.C.-based garage-punk group, touring in support of its Touch and Go debut, The R&B of Membership, continues the groovy concert series at Tempe's Stinkweeds Record Exchange, 1250 East Apache, Suite 109. Showtime is 10 p.m. Sunday, July 21. For more information, call 968-9490.
Matinee at the Bijou: The mission of this yearlong series is to re-create the ambiance of the silver-screen family matinees of the '30s and '40s. Each installment features vintage programming comprising a cartoon, short subjects, a newsreel, a serial segment and a feature film. This week's installment, which starts at noon Sunday, July 21, on KAET-TV, Channel 8, includes the musical shorts In Love With a Song and I Need a Nurse, part three of the serial Zorro Rides Again, and Jean Hersholt as Dr. Christian in the 1941 programmer They Meet Again. For details call 965-2308.
Fairgrounds Antique Market: See Saturday.
Here in America: See Thursday.
National Independent Bookstore Week: See Saturday.
Nico-Icon: See Thursday.
monday
july 22
Rick Trevino: The Nashville hat, a 25-year-old Texas native, is out stumping for his new Columbia disc, Learning As You Go, with a minitour of Southwestern retail outlets. Trevino's scheduled to perform a free, unplugged set from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, July 22, at the Best Buy store at 1949 East Camelback. Call 266-3400.
National Independent Bookstore Week: See Saturday.
Nico-Icon: See Thursday.
tuesday
july 23
The Mighty Blue Kings: The Windy City jump revivalists have been together less than two years, but they've displayed a touch of the genie, having uncorked the bottle and unpenned the soul of the late, great swinger Louis Jordan, who's gotta be rockin' in rhythm down there in his coffin. The hard-boppin', jive-talkin', bar-walkin' Blue Kings bring their vintage brand of fun to the Rhythm Room, 1019 East Indian School, for shows at 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 23; and the same time Wednesday, July 24. The cover is $6.50. For details call 265-4842.
Phoenix Firebirds: The Valley's Triple A affiliate of baseball's San Francisco Giants continues its Pacific Coast League season with home games against the Tucson Toros at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, July 23; and the same time Wednesday, July 24, at Scottsdale Stadium, 7408 East Osborn. The series continues through Friday, July 26. Call 275-0500.
"La Phoeniquera XVI": See Thursday.
National Independent Bookstore Week: See Saturday.
Nico-Icon: See Thursday.
wednesday
july 24
H.O.R.D.E. Festival '96: John Popper's Blues Traveler, Dave Matthews Band, Lenny Kravitz, and Rusted Root are the main-stage acts at this fifth annual neohippie jam--and we do mean "jam," as most of the participating performers are wont to kick off their Birkenstocks and wail a while, a la the fest's patron saint, the late Jerry Garcia. Sublime songstress Rickie Lee Jones has inexplicably been assigned to second-stage duty, but then, she's more postbeatnik than posthippie. Leftover Salmon, Super 8, and Medeski, Martin & Wood complete the lineup. In case you're wondering, H.O.R.D.E. stands for "Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere" (see the story on page 92). The show starts at 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 24, at Desert Sky Pavilion, 2121 North 83rd Avenue. Tickets are $25 and $32.50, available at Ticketmaster. Call 254-7599 or 784-4444.
"La Phoeniquera XVI": See Thursday.
The Mighty Blue Kings: See Tuesday.
National Independent Bookstore Week: See Saturday.
Nico-Icon: See Thursday.
Phoenix Firebirds: See Tuesday.
